Our ambassador Nikola may be one of the fittest guys we know and really pays attention to what he eats but - guilty of charge - he loves cookies, just like most of us. That’s why it wasn’t hard to convince him to bake (with a little help of course) some cookies for us, to celebrate today’s International day of cookies.
Before we share with you his secret recipe for crunchy cookies, let’s learn together something new!
INTERESTING FACT …
Did you know that first cookies were invented in Persia, during the seventh century? Right around the same time that sugar became a common resource in that region. It then quickly spread throughout Europe thanks to the Muslim conquest of Spain. The cookie would continue to march across the continent until it became one of the most prevalent snacks in Europe by the fifteenth century.
CRUNCHY COOKIE RECIPE
INGREDIENTS
165 gram unsalted butter
80 gram sugar
80 gram brown sugar
2 egg yolks – cold
10 ml vanilla extract
300 gram all purpose flour
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp salt
150 gram chocolate chips
METHOD
1. Melt butter then let cool until it has solidified a bit.
2. Add white and brown sugar to butter and mix well until incorporated, then add eggs and vanilla extract and blend well. Set aside.
3. In another bowl, sift in flour, baking soda, and salt, mix well. Preheat oven at 190°C (top and bottom heat).
4. Divide the flour mixture into 3 portions. Sift each part into the bowl of butter and egg from (2), incorporate with a spatula before adding extra flour. We will have a quite dry cookie dough. Finally, add about 4/5 of the chocolate chips, incorporate them into the dough.
* In this step, you can also mix ingredients with a mixer (at low speed)
5. Prepare a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Take about 30 grams of cookie dough, shape into a ball, then put on the tray. Continue with the rest of dough. Leave about 3 ~ 5 cm space between two pieces of dough.
* If the dough is too wet, too soft or sticky to be shaped, let it sit in the fridge for about 20 ~ 30 minutes until it gets firmer and less sticky.
6. Lightly press the cookie dough to flatten them a little bit. Place the remaining chocolate chip cookies onto the dough.
7. Baking:
* To make the cookies crispy inside out: bake them at 190°C for about 12 minutes. After 8 ~ 9 minutes when the cookies are slightly golden, rotate the tray, then continue baking for about 3 more minutes until their edges turn golden-brown. Take them out, leave cool on baking pan for about 5 minutes before transferring to a rack to get cool completely.
* To make the cookies that are crispy outside but soft inside: bake at 170°C for about 15 minutes. After 10 ~ 12 minutes when the cookies are slightly golden, rotate the tray, then continue baking until their edges turn golden-brown. Take them out, leave cool on baking pan for about 5 minutes before transferring to a rack to get cool completely.
8. These cookies should be stored in air-tight bags or containers. They taste best in the first 1-2 weeks. If the cookies are soften or not crispy enough, put them back into the oven and bake at 110°C for 5-8 minutes (don’t over-bake them as they get too hard and dry to eat).